U.S. Senator Kamala Harris was in Greensboro Sunday, making a campaign stop as she seeks the Democratic nomination for president.
The former prosecutor spoke to supporters in a packed gym at Smith High School. Harris says she's the Democrat most able to make the case against the re-election of Republican Donald Trump.
She says she would do more than Trump to combat gun violence in America, making reference to a Texas mass shooting this month where authorities say the alleged shooter told them he had targeted Mexicans.
“People have been asking me, 'So you think he's [Trump] responsible for what happened in El Paso?'” she says. “Here's what I said, and here's what I believe: Look, of course he didn't pull the trigger, but he's certainly been tweeting out the ammunition.”
Harris also says that as president she would implement a green new deal and push for a middle-class tax cut paid for by repealing the Republican tax cuts that she says only benefit the wealthy and corporations.
She said the country is currently at an inflection point.
“We are made for moments like this,” she says. “This is a moment in time that is requiring us to look in the mirror and ask a question, and that question is ‘Who are we?' And I think we all know that part of the answer to that question is, ‘We are better than this.'”
She said all that has been achieved over the years has come from fighting the good fight, referencing the 1960 sit-ins at the Greensboro Woolworth's lunch counter as an example.
Harris targeted most of her criticisms at the president, making no direct attack on any of her Democratic rivals. North Carolina's primary is March 3.
State Sen. Gladys Robinson of Greensboro introduced Harris, whom she described as a determined and fearless fighter for all people.
North Carolina is once again expected to be an important swing state in 2020. Former Vice President Joe Biden is expected to attend a fundraiser in Charlotte this week.